What does an ideal learning environment look like?

Although everyone has a personal learning story, not everyone has been fortunate enough to work and learn in an optimal learning environment over time.

Why is that? If we know what we need in order to learn how to use our minds well, why don’t we act more proactively to create those sorts of places for adults and children?

A central goal of the Faces of Learning campaign is to change this equation — and to make sure that all of us understand more clearly what the ideal learning environment looks like — and requires.

Of course, one way to find out would be to read all of the stories on this site, and to see which core conditions appear most often across our community’s experiences — whether it’s a 3rd grade class, an Outward Bound course, or a church mission in a foreign country.

We welcome you to do that — and we know how long it would take.

Here’s a simpler alternative: check out the tag cloud in the upper left-hand corner of this page, and see at a glance which conditions of powerful learning are most essential, based on the lived experiences of our growing community of storytellers. Then, ask yourself and your colleagues, “In what ways is our school (or organization) already set up to support this list of attributes? In what ways are we currently set up NOT to support this list? What would we need to change to make sure that all people had the chance to learn in this sort of environment all the time?”

What Else Can I Do?

Every school or organization is a work in progress. Still, check out these places to get a sense of how different communities are going about the process of creating better places to work and learn:

At Science Leadership Academy, an inquiry-driven public high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, three essential questions form the basis of instruction: “How do we learn?” “What can we create?” “What does it mean to lead?”

At Zappos, an online retailer with headquarters in Las Vegas, Nevada, the past few years have witnessed exponential growth and success, a fact CEO Tony Hsieh and others attribute to its emphasis on a healthy, supportive organizational culture.

At Urban Academy, a public school in New York City, students attend a school that is designed around the belief that what students think and have to say are essential components of the overall learning process – and that it is possible to assess students in meaningful ways that go beyond mere standardized tests.

At WorldBlu, thousands of schools, companies and individuals are coming together from across the world in a groundbreaking movement to see 1 billion people working in free and democratic workplaces.

Do you know of another place or program where adults and children are learning how to learn to use their minds well? Let us know so we can help spread the word!

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Visit http://www.allkindsofminds.org/schools-of-distinction to read about more than two dozen schools committed to fostering success among diverse and complex learners. Representing every type of school — from traditional public and charter to independent, parochial, and Montessori — these schools demonstrate how educators can work together to develop individual intellects, talents and creativity, and to address student learning issues.

Supplemental arts and vocational programs are integral to expanding the world children grow up in. They offer an alternative form of communication for children with learning difficulties and expand the world for others. Academic education should be inclusive of the arts which add more ways to learn. For example, there is a highly successful music program for underprivileged youth in Venezuela being supported by Maestro Gustavo Dudamel: http://www.ted.com/talks/astonishing_performance_by_a_venezuelan_youth_orchestra_1.html
and multiple small community music programs like one in Knoxville recently profiled in the media:
(http://www.joyofmusicschool.org/index.php/history/)
Non-traditional offerings like these are actually life-changing for children and give some of them their first chance to excel. Like any change, it begins with the individual child, affects his/her family, changes the school environment and ultimately impacts in the society in a constructive way. Art, robotics and dance are no less powerful options. Opening new paths by which we awaken the senses and give children a chance to explore creative talent that might otherwise remain dormant is the way we ensure the future.

I am in Prince george’s county, Maryland (upper marlboro to be exact) Seeking to implement and educational program that is experiential, interactive…. seeking other like minded people. Want to focus on kinesthetic/ tactile learning styles.

The LEAD (Learning and Educating About Disabilities) Foundation was established in 2002 by a group of parents familiar with the frustrations of putting their student(s) with learning disabilities and/or ADHD through the public school system. One of the purposes of the Foundation is to support the unique LEAD Program at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs. LEAD is a class for students diagnosed with LD and ADHD that teaches them the science behind their disability, strategies for overcoming their disabilities, their rights as students on 504 and IEP plans, and advocacy skills. LEAD boasts a 99% high school graduation rate and college acceptance and graduation rates well above the national average for students with LD.

LEAD students also present at national learning disabilities conferences on the “social, emotional and academic challenges of being a teenager with a learning disability or ADHD”. Through these presentations and personal testimonies, LEAD students have helped thousands of parents and educators have a better understanding of how to help the student struggling with learning and attention issues in school and at home.

The LEAD Foundation believes that more students should have the benefit of a class that teaches students with learning disabilities how to succeed through self-knowledge and self-advocacy. A science based curriculum, written by LEAD founder and director Al Pocock, was recently published by the LEAD Foundation and is available to other schools.